


Why our Wee English fella

by Thenewwriter



Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: Ghosts, Heartbreak, Loss, Memories, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26666446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thenewwriter/pseuds/Thenewwriter
Relationships: James Maguire/Erin Quinn
Comments: 11
Kudos: 19





	1. Erin turn on the tv now!

" Erin love your dinner is getting cold" Mary sat down at her spot on the table the scraping of chairs and cutlery on plates was a stark comparison to the quiet of the living room as Erin was reading a book and in another world of her imagination. "in a second ma I've almost finished the chapter." her eyes scanning the words on the page what was Pip going to get up to in London like a certain fella who she knew who was in London right now with his ma." "Erin.Erin! christ, the book isn't going anywhere" Erin looked towards her ma with a look of disgust "fine" she threw a little sulk and marched into the kitchen and sat down next to her da. 

"so love any word from James he must have arrived in London by now" Gerry handed Erin a full plate of food it was pasta bake tonight not her favorite dish but good enough she supposed. "I haven't heard from him daddy I am meant to call him soon after dinner I hope he is ok" Mary pointed her fork at Erin "you seem to be on the phone with James a lot recently.. is he your new fancy.. should I get the best plates out when he comes round." Erin wanted to bury her face in her food "I don't fancy him ma we are just good friends that's all." "aye right your father and I were very 'good friends' when we met at that caravan site when we were 16." Gerry went red in the face "mary this isn't the place to discuss this." Mary leaned back on her chair "I'm just saying that if you two fancy each other I have nothing against it but no funny business between the two of you in this house."

Gerry put her arm around his oldest daughter "James is a good fella Erin he reminds me of me at his age" Erin put her fork in her food "look can we stop talking about James, please... Christ" Gerry and Mary looked at each other with a look of shock on their faces "she definitely fancies the wee English fella Gerry mother's intuition I can tell."

*ring ring... ring ring"

"oh for god sake! its probably one of those cold calls!" Mary stood up from her place at the table "just as we are about to eat dinner why do they pick this time to call Gerry sure they can't just wait an hour at least" Mary marched towards the receiver and tightly grasped it as her picked it up. "hello... Deidre, we are just in the middle of ... really.. oh my god.. yes yes of course." mary placed the receiver down on the table "Erin turned the tv on something terrible happened" Erin went to the tv and pressed the power button on the tv. It flickered into life and on the screen looked like there had been an explosion of some kind on a high street.

"for those just tuning in, there has been an explosion in London with multiple people injured and some people suspected to have died. The explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device. The IRA has claimed responsibility in what they argue in a response to the perceived British occupation of Northern Ireland and failure to be willing to engage in proper peace talks. Suddenly the news reporter pressed against the device in their ear "we have reports that at least 5 individuals have died and more than 20 injured in this explosion." Mary looked at Erin "you said that James was in London today" she ran back to the phone receiver "Deidre was James live near that place where the explosion happened.. Jesus, please let me know if he is fine for me and Erin as well she is worried sick." Mary put the phone down and put her hand on Erin's shoulder "James was there" she pointed at the tv "and well Kathy phoned deidre to say that she hasn't seen or heard from James since.. God look after the wain" with that all the family made the sign of the cross and Erin started praying for her wee English fella's safety.


	2. Michelle pays a visit

Erin prayed as much as she could until she went black and blue she prayed more in an hour than she had done in the past 15 years of her life she was praying for James's safety "God if you're up there please please look after James yes I know he is English and the Irish are your favorite.. well that's debatable but he is not a bad fella really but please please let him be safe. Amen" in her diary, she wrote how as soon as he was coming back to Derry she wanted to ask him on a date and she wanted to make damn sure that was going to happen.

"christ I hope the Fella is alright" had since come to visit her granddaughter to see if she was alright Erin had just sat on the sofa staring at the news reports that were coming in "i hope so to da he is a good fella." she looked towards Erin and sat down next to her and placed an arm around her "sure James is ok love I know you like him since Prom and to be honest I think he is cracker as far as the english are concerned." Erin eyed the crucifix on the wall "if James is dead ma there is no god how can god allow our wee english fella to die he has done nothing wrong he is a good fella mammy."

*meanwhile at the Mallon household*

"Ma i will get the phone!" Michelle legged it to the phone and picked up the receiver "Hello" there was a pause at the other end "is this where a James Z Maguire lives?" "aye, it is this is his cousin speaking is he ok?" Michelle tightly gripped the receiver both her mother and father staring at her as she is looking at them. "well.. *cough* Mr Maguire is .. well he has passed away im sorry." Michelle dropped the receiver and ran out of the door towards the Quinn household leaving her ma to pick up the receiver after her "who is this?" she asked but Michelle wasn't it earshot the tears in her face starting to cloud her vision "fuck sake those bastards" she ran down the pavement and into the road when prams and buggies were blocking the way the beeping of horns didn't bother her when she entered the road she needed to get to the Quinn household quickly.

Finally, she found the door to the Quinn household and banged her fist on the door and pressed the doorbell. Mary opened the door but Michelle slipped past her and ran into the living room. Erin stood up "Michelle any news about jam.." Michelle wrapped herself around Erin constricting her with her arms "those provo bastards they killed James!" Erin shocked her head "No..no god no" Erin felt tears in her eyes "he is not dead Michelle he can't be!" she looked at the screen the news presenter sitting behind a desk reading out the news the main headline was the bomb attack in London.

"ach love " Mary wrapped her arms around the both of them "He is not dead mammy he can't be" Mary looked at Michelle "does Kathy know?" Michelle looked up at her "I hope so she would be in the hospital with him." suddenly Deidre came into view "mary the door was open Michelle come here" Deirdre gave her daughter a deep hug "I spoke to kathy on the phone she identified James in the hospital I could hear her screaming in the background when speaking to a doctor." Erin wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. Gerry held onto Mary who was also balling the whole room was filled with balling eyes.


	3. Assembly announcement and James has so many questions

Assembly today was different in that it didn't involve a sing-song and dance by Jenny and her group of friends she was on strict orders from sister Michael in her words "sit down and shut up today" Sister Michael walked towards the microphone and gave it a tap "right you lot listen you may have seen or heard the news that there was an explosion in London" there was a murmur amongst the girl's everyone had heard of it sure it was the main story of the week even if you lived as a hermit in a cave-like St Kevin you would have heard about it one way or another. "now among the fatalities of the exposition was one James Maguire yes the English boy who went here now regardless of your feelings of the English I am here as a headteacher to announce the tragic death of one of our own students and I have been asked by his legal gardians and family to allow a member of his family to say a few words to all of us so Miss Mallon if you would like to say a few words."

Michelle had been given liberty for today to be allowed to wear an all-black outfit instead of her school uniform and all the girls wore a black armband to support her in what was a difficult time for the Mallon's and the Maguires. "Thank you Sister Michael" she placed a piece of paper on the podium "er you lot know me as well a bit of a mouth and well after what happened recently well I have been silent for a long time. James well we used to joke around that he was a dick and well he is English so that was a reason enough but he was my cousin. Sure he said this place was mental sure he was like a lost puppy following me around the place and he hung out with me and my friends. But he was family you know my ma always said that blood is thicker than water and family is family and I loved him like family. I know I will get flack for this but fuck it but HOW MANY! people have to die for this to STOP! does the whole of Northern Ireland have to run red with blood for it to stop?! do we all have to be dead and this whole place a fucking graveyard for it to be OVER! My cousin is dead and my aunt has lost her only wain and I felt like I lost a brother but for some people, it's not enough! How many have to die for people to realize that war, death, hatred, and bombs aren't going to solve anything! We need to be like John Hume and Jesus in the bible and be peaceful for fuck sake! 

Michelle stood there shaking Erin stood up and went up to the stage and put an arm around her "I JUST WANT MY DICKO OF A COUSIN BACK I LOVED HIM LIKE A BROTHER!" Michelle fell on her knees "God you a fucking bastard you are! you took him away from us and he did nothing wrong he was a nice fella! Erin helped Michelle up and led her off the stage. Looking at sister Michael with a look of apology but it seemed Sister Michael could understand.

Sister Michael gestured for the girls to rise and looked at the piano player. Suddenly the projected in the middle of the stage flashed bright and plastered a hymn on the projector screen ' _Abide with me fast fall the eventide'_ as the whole hall started singing the hymn the group of girls was struggling to stay standing up as their legs were buckling under the weight of their sadness the only one who could seem to at least attempt at singing was Orla but even she was struggling to sing some of the words in a semi-composed manner. Erin started to shake uncontrollably " I loved you James I loved you for god sake it's my fault" Claire attempted to grab her sleeve as she attempted to rush out "Erin its not your fault" Erin couldn't look at her "I should have told him! we could have been together and got old together and have a big house with a wain and a dog and and" this was the first time she had said this to anyone and anything that wasn't her diary.

Meanwhile, while all of this is going one there were two people looking down from above. "wow Erin I didn't know how much you cared about me" James looked towards the old bearded fella who was stood next to him "you should pay a visit tonight Mr. Maguire you can if you would like to." James smiled "really I can go down there?" The bearded man stood up from his ceramic seat " of course you can Mr. Maguire I visit down to the land on the living on many occasions in fact I am planning to go down soon." he started to walk towards a large building surrounded by people dressed in all sorts of attire and made up of all social classes in society rich and poor old and young all sorts" James looked towards the man "I forgot to ask what your name is? you have been nice to me since I arrived here." the man turned room almost confused at the question "oh I have gone by many names over the years by all sorts of people some call me God others Jehova, Allah, etc I go by many names" James ran up to him "really you are God?! I have so many questions." God gave a short chuckle "your not the first person to say that let me tell you. But I am happy to answer what questions you have."


	4. I had to visit you

Nightimes were the worst time for Erin right now the light of the sun at least bringing with it some sense of happiness was replaced by the darkness cloaking her with sadness and some sort of guilt that she had. Erin looked at the teddy bear she had on her bedside table. When she was a wee wain when she was scared of the dark she would put the teddy on her bedside table to protect her against the monsters who roamed the night now it was just a comforting mechanism.

In her left hand she held a picture of James and her when they were at prom she remembered the butterflies in her heart as she walked down those stairs, she remembered the feeling of her heart when he almost left Derry she loved him there was no denying it but sadly fate had another idea to what she believed would happen he was gone he was dead he wasn't coming back. "Erin. Erin wake up is that you Erin?" the room went cold like she was in a fridge freezer "christ Orla l i know you like ice lolly but fuck sake it's freezing in here."

"well I like ice lollies but I'm not Orla" Erin opened her eyes when she heard this and turned to the direction of the voice "who are you.. i know how to fight Michelle taught me" Erin put her fists up. the room was empty it was just her but she saw a figure in the mirror not so much a person but more of a figure of a person a shadow person. "hey you shadow fecker i have holy water and I'm not afraid to use it" she picked up a bottle of water (which wasn't really holy water she was bluffing) and her rosary "the power of Christ compels you" Erin shuffled forwards not looking anywhere but at the shadow figure in the mirror standing there. 

"that's no way to speak to me Erin I came down to visit you because you said you loved me" Erin stood still 'who is this shadow figure? no, it can't be?' "James? is that you oh my god this is a dream it must be its a nightmare I shouldn't have had that cheese toastie cheese gives you nightmares they said." "No this isn't a nightmare give me a second" Erin stepped back and suddenly the shadowy figure in the mirror took on the form of James in a suit. "James it's you" Erin whispered her smiled beaming onto the mirror "why are you in a suit?" James looked at her "oh it's what my body is dressed in at the moment it's in the undertakers" Erin scratched her head "so ghosts wear what they were wearing when they died or what they are buried in" James nodded "pretty much that's what God himself told me."

"you spoke to God what's he like?" Erin looked at the small pocket bible on her desk that she was given by sister Michael "well the bible was particularly right and wrong about him he told me he said, "I swear half of what's in that book is Chinese whispers" Erin stood there almost a gasp "they don't tell us that in church" James shrugged "well that's what God told me. Wait there let me get out of this mirror" Suddenly there was a brief flash of white light as James moved into the room from the mirror "Mirror allows ghosts to enter the land of the living it also gives me the chance to see you." Erin put the rosary on the beads rattling as she moved them in her hand "can you hear things in heaven like what we all say because I love you, James, I said that in assembly." James nodded "I heard it listen I am going to be buried in Derry apparently something to do with being with the family next to nan and grandad pay me a visit sometime."

Erin brushed away a tear "I will do James as long as I'm in Derry I will visit you." Suddenly James's face started to show cuts and red blood was gashing out "I'm sorry Erin I have to go" "What's happening, James!" "I'm turning into what I looked like when i died I can't let you see that I need to gain more strength to stop that from happening I'm still learning the ropes" he slowly hovered back into the mirror. "no James wait... Wait!" but he wasn't there he vanished "shite!" the bedroom door opened and Mary walked in crossed armed "Erin Joesphine Quinn back to bed I know you're upset but i need my sleep" she slowly pushed Erin back into bed "but ma James was he. he was a ghost he spoke to me" "erin the only ghost there is the holy ghost James is in heaven." Erin got back into bed "i saw him ma i can bring him back i swear 'I just need a board an ouija board Michelle must know someone with a ouiji board'."


	5. Are you sure this is a good idea Erin?

A month and a half later

"Are you sure this is a good idea Erin they say contacting the dead using the Ouija board is dangerous?" Claire looked at Erin who was setting up the board on the kitchen table. "that's why Claire we have someone who is good at these sorts of things Aunt Sarah. "Alright, love are you joining us all in this seance then?" Aunt Sarah lit a candle and placed it on the kitchen table. Claire looked at all of the other girls who had placed a hand each on the planchette "how did you get this anyway?" Claire sat down and gingerly placed a hand on the planchette. "Michelle got it from a friend of a friend but that's not important Claire now Aunt Sarah." Erin looked at her aunt who looked down at the board.

"Are there any spirits here with us?" Erin looked around the room as she asked this question she had drawn all the curtains so the room was dark other than the light of the candle next to the board. Suddenly the planchette slowly started to move to lead the whole room looking at the small piece of plastic moving down the board 'YES' Erin wanted to let out a smile thinking that this was James but she heard of stories of bad spirits from Ouija boards. "oh this is going to be so cracker" Orla pulled out a Haribo from her pocket and put it in her mouth.

"Can you tell us your name please spirit?" Aunt Sarah placed both of her hands on the planchette again as it slowly moved in unison all the girls spelled the letters that were being pointed to "J-A-M-E-S" Erin smiled and before aunt Sarah had the chance to answer her next question "can you show us where you are James?" Michelle gave Erin's freehand a soft squeeze with her free hand. "M-I-R-R-O-R" "mirror? what does he mean by mirror?" Michelle looked at the mirror.

*knock knock knock*a knocking sound filled the room the sound was of that of three slow knocks but it sounded like it was something knocking on the glass. Orla stood aghast and pointed towards the mirror "I see him I see James he is in the mirror!" Michelle looked towards the mirror and sure enough, James stood there in the reflection in the mirror smiling at them. "James!" Erin stood up and ran to the mirror putting her hand on the mirror which leads to James doing the same. "I can't stay long Erin I have used a lot of my energy to be at my funeral today." Michelle stood next to Erin "you were there but we didn't see you?" James frowned "I didn't want to cause a scene. Thank you all by the way for the service it was lovely mum would be thankful." Michelle rested her head against the mirror "I miss you Dicko mammy takes me to see a doctor something to do with grief. I wish you didn't die I blame myself every day."

"it's not your fault Michelle no one knew what would happen he looked towards the front window "Erin your parents are coming back I must go" Erin looked to the curtains "no James please stay please" James shook he head "I cant Erin they will panic and if your ma sees me she will try to get a priest here to perform an exorcism to stop me talking to you girls." Erin pressed her lips on the mirror "James don't leave us please" James smiled "I'm always with you guys I'm your wee English ghost sometimes if you look in the corner of your eyes I will be there." Suddenly a white light started to shine behind James "goodbye girls" Suddenly Mary came into the room "Erin I have some fish and.. is that an ouija board?! that's it I'm calling a priest to come here!" Erin shed a tear "MA NO!"


End file.
